Makoto: Street Fighter 3 Third Strike Strategy Guide and Moves

Watch the Japanese Makoto player J perform several of Makoto's best traps and advanced techniques is this video collage. Watch ►

Movie courtesy of Adryanv and 2Hai

Character overview

Makoto is one of the best fighters in Street Fighter 3 Third Strike. Most players put her right around the 4th best overall character in the game, although some feel she's higher or lower based on their own preferences.

Very few people argue about how excellent she is in the right hands though. Makoto's tactics are frustrating and deadly to beginning and mid-level players, and yet she's still one of the best fighters against top competition.

Here's the low down:

• Strengths •
+ Makoto's moves have exceptional priority
+ Does lots of stun damage
+ Outstanding mix-up game as your opponent gets up
+ Capable of applying a lot of offensive pressure
+ One of the best dashes in the game
+ Powerful combos
+ Easy to frustrate your opponent with her traps

The Karakusa (Grab and Choke)

The Karakusa is the reason you play Makoto. This thing is Nasty. It's a command grab that does an alright amount of stun, but it leaves your opponent open for a split-second so you can combo them.

Landing combos after a Karakusa is one of the most important aspects of playing Makoto. These setups and combos will keep your opponent guessing, and you'll be doing a lot of damage/stun along the way.

You should always be trying to find ways to land the Karakusa — or at least giving your opponent the idea that you COULD use it — to keep them in the spots you want them to be.

Here's some common ways to land the Karakusa.

Right after dashing.

After sticking out a 'meaty' standing Medium Punch when you're close to the other fighter.

After a crouching Light Kick, when you're close.

After causing block stun (recovery time after an opponent blocks a move) from a jumping attack.

These are just a few of many ways to set up the Karakusa. In the near future I'll be adding a video that shows most of the common set ups and how to do them, please keep checking back to see the video.

There's also a way to increase the range your Karakusa has. Please see Makoto's Kara Moves section below for more information.

What to do as your opponent gets off the ground

Makoto has several tactics in her mix up game that she can use as her opponent gets up. Here's some of the better/more common set ups. Note that this is NOT a complete list, just some of the usual tricks.

• If your opponent blocks low... •

Crouching Light Kick, then go into a Karakusa (Grab and Choke).

Pause for a split-second and then do a Karakusa (Grab and Choke) as your opponent gets up. This works if they block high as well.

Standing 'Meaty' Medium Punch then go into the Karakusa (Grab and Choke).

Crouching Light Kick, cancel into an a Hayate (Dash Punch), this combo puts you in good position to combo them again with it if they don't block, or to grab them with the Karakusa if they block after the combo.

Sweep them with a crouching Hard Punch and make them face the same getting up situation.

• If your opponent attempts to parry... •

Simply pause for a split-second and grab them with the Karakusa.

• If your opponent tries to jump away... •

Combo them right as they stand, pick from pretty much any of the combos below.

Knock them out of the air with a jumping Hard Kick, and set them up for another trap.

This video tutorial explains how to do Makoto's Kara Moves. A Kara Move allows you to move closer to an opponent -- extending the range of an attack. Watch ►

Makoto's Kara Moves

Pulling off Kara moves with Makoto is not as tricky as a traditional Kara-throw. The timing is simply not as strict. For a full explanation on Kara throws and how to do them, check out this page.

The whole concept of a 'Kara' is that you use the animation of a move to get closer to the other fighter, effectively increasing your range. This is helpful in deceiving your opponent, because they'll think you're out of range for a Karakusa, but in reality you can grab them still.

Here are Makoto's Kara moves:

• Kara-Karakusa •
Press Light Kick and quickly go into the Karakusa (Grab and Choke). This gives your Karakusa even more range, making it much more deceptive.

Be warned that if your Light Kick hits or is blocked your Karakusa will miss.

You can set up the correct range needed to perform the Kara-Karakusa when:

Your opponent blocks an EX-Hayate (Dash Punch).

You press toward your opponent and Medium Punch.

• Kara-EX-Oroshi •
Press Light Kick and quickly go into the EX-Oroshi (Flashing Overhead Chop). This gives you more range.

Watch this video to see situations where you can use Makoto's Kara Super Arts. Watch ►

Movie courtesy of Mike Z

• Kara-EX-Fukiage •
Press Light Kick and quickly go into the EX-Fukiage (Flashing Upwards Punch). This makes you move forward a lot more distance than a normal non-Kara version.

• Kara-Seichusen-Godanzuki (Multiple punches) Super Art 1 •
Do a half-circle forward motion and press Light Kick when the joystick is in a neutral position and do another half circle forward motion and press punch, and do it VERY quickly. This gives you Super Art 1 much more range, but actually pulling this off and landing it in a match is another story...

Special Moves

• Hayate (Dash Punch) •
Makoto's main offensive move. You can easily combo with this from a variety of normal moves, and when it hits you'll have additional options afterwards to trap your opponent, as you'll be fairly close to them.

Do not do this move all of the time though, because if blocked you'll leave yourself wide-open to a counter-attack.

You can hold down the punch button after doing this motion to have Makoto stand there until the button is released, or you can press kick to cancel the Hayate completely.

The strength of the button determines how far Makoto dashes before punching, but all three punches do the same damage.

It does a bit more damage than the normal Hayate and if it hits it will knock down your opponent — something Makoto players are always trying to do.

Unlike the normal version of this move, the recovery is short enough that even if your opponent blocks it, you should be able to block any attacks afterwards, or use it as a means to get in close and set up some of Makoto's grapples.

• Fukiage (Upwards Punch) •
At first glance, this move is useless and actually painful to execute, because it leaves you wide-open to an attack and is almost impossible to hit with.

But skilled players use this move in combos to juggle the other fighter as it does a crazy amount of stun and is deadly when coupled with her Super Art 2, the Abare Tosanami.

• EX-Fukiage (Flashing Upwards Punch) •
Like the normal version of this move, its use is extremely limited, even more so than the normal version because it eats up a bit of your super bar when you do it.

The main advantage of this move is that Makoto takes a step forward before she thrusts her fist up in the air, giving it a bit more range to hit with, but since it costs extra super meter, most players don't even bother using it.

Besides using it in a few combos, this move doesn't have much use.

• Karakusa (Grab and Choke) •
The Karakusa is the reason you play Makoto.

The light kick version grabs your opponent faster and has the least range, while the hard kick variety has more range but is slower to execute.

There's a full section above describing how to use this move for combos, traps and more.

• Oroshi (Overhead Karate Chop) •
This move must be blocked high. When it hits, the light and medium versions will knock your opponent back a bit while using hard punch will knock them down.

The light and medium versions have a bit of a delay before they hit, and can be countered if blocked.

The hard punch version has a long delay before it hits, but it cannot be countered after being blocked.

All three strengths of the Oroshi can be canceled into Makoto's Super Art 1 for excellent damage, except in the case of the hard punch karate chop — it will whiff if your opponent is hit while crouching.

• EX-Oroshi (Flashing Overhead Karate Chop) •
This move comes out EXTREMELY fast and is almost impossible for your opponent to react and block in time if they don't guess correctly. It also knocks down.

And even if the other fighter blocks this, the recovery time is safe.

This is a very powerful move.

• Tsurugi (Aerial Axe Kick) • (In the air)
This has a long delay, but it has a high priority, which means it can beat out a lot of other moves when you get to the attacking part of the animation.

The light and medium kick versions can set up an opponent for juggles with the Hayate (dashing punch), if you hit them in the air. The hard kick version knocks down.

This move can also be useful is mixing up the timing of your jump in, which will help throw off would-be parriers, and you can also use it for jump-in combos, although the timing can be tricky.

• EX-Tsurugi (Flashing Aerial Axe Kick) • (In the air)
The EX-Tsurugi hits twice, and you can use it to interrupt the trajectory of your jump to promptly land after the attack.

This is useful because you can jump up and immediately do this move to hit an opponent — even if they're blocking low. Tricky.

It also takes a bit of superbar to use, like all EX-moves.

• Personal Action (Taunt) •
Makoto poses and puts her hand out in front of her. You're wide open to an attack when you taunt.

Makoto's Personal Action has three phases, which you go through by holding down the buttons, and besides the first instance this is about impossible to pull off in a legitimate match. Regardless, they are:

Phase 1: Increases the damage of your next hit by 31.3%.

Phase 2: Increases the damage of your next hit by 62.5%.

Phase 3: Increases the rate at which you recover stun meter by about 10%. This lasts the whole round.

Super Arts

Most Makoto players choose either Super Art 1 or 2 depending on the who they're playing against. But it seems the overall most picked super is the Abare Tosanami (Super Art 2). See below for additional details about each super.

• SA1: Seichusen-Godanzuki (Multiple punches) •
Most players choose SA1 against low stamina characters like Yun, Yang and Ibuki. These players spend a lot of time in the air, and can make it difficult to grab and beat down, and since their staminas are so low, this super does big damage.

There are also multiple hit-confirms with this, and it gives Makoto a reversal attack with a big payoff if you land it.

Weaknesses include lack of range and less EX meter to play around with compared to SA2, but all in all this is a pretty good super to use.

• SA2: Abare Tosanami (Jump away and dive kick) •
This is the Super Art of choice for most Makoto players. It has insane damage and stun potential when coupled with the Karakusa (Grab and Choke) and gives Makoto the most EX meter to play with out of all of the super arts.

It can be difficult to land this in certain matches/situations, and some people shy away from it because of this, but the potential to really mess up your opponent and scare the crap out of them with a deadly combo is what helps make Makoto a top tier character.

The Light Kick version is for when your opponent is close, Medium Kick for medium range and Hard Kick for long range.

• SA3: Tanden-Renki (Stronger Makoto that can't block) •
More of a fun super than a effective one. Makoto does a lot of damage, but she cannot block although she can still parry.

Considering how effective her other supers are, using this one seems mostly pointless, as even a decent player should be able to exploit your inability to block while using it.

That said, it's still sometimes fun to mess around with this in less serious settings.

Combos

In this section you're not going to find every possible combo for Makoto, but what you will find are the typical bread and butter combos that you should know.

• Karakusa (grab and choke), standing Hard Punch cancel into EX-Hayate (flashing dash punch) •
This is Makoto's bread and butter combo, it does a lot of damage and can drive fear into the heart of the other fighter because of its power and ease of use, and it also knocks the other player down, which is highly desirable.

• Karakusa (grab and choke), standing Hard Punch cancel into Hayate (dash punch) •
This is a variation on the above combo used because it does NOT knock them down, and puts you in a position to do more damage as you'll be in very close range.

• Crouching Light Kick, cancel into Light Punch Hayate (dash punch) •
A basic, but very effective combo, because if it lands you can do it again faster than most people can counter-attack, leading to much frustration on the part of the other player. There are many other options available after landing the Hayate as well.

• Crouching Medium Punch, cancel into the Hayate (dash punch) •
A good poke combo when you're outside of close range.

• Standing Medium Punch, Link into Crouching Light Kick and Cancel into a Light Punch Hayate (Dash Punch) •
The timing on this combo is tricky because of the link, but it can be fairly useful.

• Standing Light Punch, Chain into Standing Light Kick and Cancel into a Light Punch Hayate (Dash Punch) •
This is a nifty little combo for hit-confirming the Hayate and getting them in some tricky set ups.

Super Art Combos

Below are the more useful Super Art combos with Makoto. It's not a listing of every possible combo she has, just the ones we've found most effective.

Combos involving SA1: Seichusen-Godanzuki (Multiple punches)

• Crouching Medium Kick, Link into the Seichusen Godanzuki (Super Art 1) •
Since Makoto's Crouching Medium Kick is a high priority move and one of her best pokes, this can be a VERY effective combo, and a great source of damage. This can also be hit confirmed. The timing on this is tricky, so you'll need lots of practice to land it in matches. Remember, it's a Link not a Cancel, so you'll have to time this precisely as the Crouching Medium Kick animation ends.

• Crouching Low Punch, Crouching Low Punch, Cancel into the Seichusen Godanzuki •
This is a wicked combo since you can hit-confirm it and it does a lot of damage.

• Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into the Seichusen Godanzuki •
It's possible to hit-confirm this combo, but some people find it easier to do two Crouching Light Punches to confirm the attack instead. Regardless, this combo does great damage and has solid range.

• Crouching Low Kick Cancel into Seichusen Godanzuki •
One of the better combos to use with this super, because there's no damage reduction for comboing with Crouching Low Kick, unlike other moves.

• Hayate (Dash Punch) Link into Seichusen Godanzuki •
This is another one of those combos with tricky timing. To successfully pull this off, you must execute the Super Art 1 on the first frame of animation when Makoto is recovering from the Hayate.

• Karakusa (Grab and Choke), Hard Punch and cancel into Seichusen Godanzuki •
One might assume this combo would do devastating damage, but using the Karakusa and then landing a Hard Punch dramatically reduces the damage of the Super Art 1. This is still handy though when your opponent is low on health to finish them off.

• Standing Medium Punch, Cancel into the Seichusen Godanzuki •
This can be hit confirmed, and you'll probably find its best use is to keep your opponents off guard, because most players love to parry Makoto's standing Medium Punch, and if they do so you can punish the crap out of them by canceling into your Super Art 1.

• Medium Punch Oroshi (Overhead Karate Chop), Cancel into the Seichusen Godanzuki •
This can be hit confirmed, but it's tricky to land on your opponent as the Medium Punch Oroshi can be spotted coming. Regardless, it's useful when you feel like your opponent won't try to counter. Some people prefer using her Universal Over Head attack instead of the Oroshi though.

Combos involving SA2: Abare Tosanami (Jump away and dive kick)

IMPORTANT NOTE: To successfully combo into an Abare Tosanami after a standing Hard Punch your back must be closer to the edge of the screen than your opponent's. i.e. you must be on YOUR side of the screen. If this is not the case you will not combo.

• Karakusa (Grab and Choke), Hard Punch, Cancel into SA2, Dash under your opponent, Hard Punch Fukiage (Upwards Punch), jump and hit them again with Hard Kick •
This combo does good damage and a lot of stun. When people talk about being afraid of Makoto, it's usually because of this combo.

Note that the Hard Punch Fukiage motion is actually reversed because you're dashing under to the other side of your opponent.

Many people will also dash in after successfully hitting the jumping Hard Kick and grab them with the Karakusa again.

• Karakusa (Grab and Choke), Hard Punch, Cancel into SA2, jump into the air and do a Medium Kick air Tsurugi (Aerial Axe Kick), juggle again with a Medium Punch Hayate (Dash Punch), juggle final time with a Hard Punch Hayate •
This combo does really good damage, and an alright amount of stun. These first two combos here will strike fear of the Karakusa into most opponent's minds. They're VERY powerful.

• Karakusa (Grab and Choke), Hard Punch, Cancel into SA2, Dash under your opponent, do a Kara-Medium Punch Fukiage (Upwards Punch), dash and do a Light Punch Fukiage •
This combo does 100% stun on most characters in the game, but it's difficult to do the Kara-Medium Punch Fukiage consistently. IF you can pull this off consistently — you may run out of people willing to challenge you.

Combos involving SA3: Tanden-Renki (Stronger Makoto that can't block)

• Karakusa (Grab and Choke), Hard Punch, Cancel into SA3, crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Hard Punch Hayate (Dash Punch) •
Although the SA3 isn't a preferred super art to choose, there is a pretty nifty combo that does nice damage with it.

Color guide

Colors requiring more than one button can be unlocked by beating the game with this character.

lol Can't believe that they are still working on 3rd strike guides. This site is awesome ^_^. Can't wait til I get my hands on a PS3. Idk whether to play super street fighter IV or god of war III first ^0^d